


(You're the) Devil in Disguise

by temporarytattoo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: A bit of Toby Miguire Spiderman, Gen, Peter Parker Deserves Better, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker-centric, Tony Stark Is Not Helping, but failing, deal with that later, give him a hug, he is really trying, infinity war? Endgame? No idea what those are, some og Spiderman references hidden here and there, there is some emotional baggage here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28563729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporarytattoo/pseuds/temporarytattoo
Summary: Things were going great for Peter Parker. He had finally gained some of New York's trust and was getting called a menace less than normal. Even the Daily Bugle had eased up on the hate train. He was hanging out with Iron Man, keeping up with his exams, hung out with his friends, and even swung around as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.Of course, things had to start going the other end eventually. Regression to the mean yada, yada.Schools out for summer, but Peter's lessons are not over yet. He still needs to learn to not take things that don't belong to him. And that his identity isn't as well kept a secret as he had thought.He really needs to stop pissing people off without even knowing he did.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

_Breathe in...Breathe out...Breathe in...Breathe out…_

It was cold and wet. Rain pelting down hard without remorse. Weathermen reported that tonight was going to have extreme weather. A couple inches of rain, high wind speeds up to sixty miles per hour, and a cold wave that could create a tornado due to the high temperatures. 

_It’s going to be a hectic night Lauren, I'll tell you that, but we are going to keep hourly reports to keep everyone aware. I’m John Dicehart and you’re watching NY Mesonet._

The cold stopped bothering him a while ago. Somewhere, in the rational mind, he knew that was a bad thing. Hyperthermia. He did a report on that in the third grade and received an A+. 

The funny thing about that though, was that his rational brain was not working. The numbness all over his body seemed like a reprieve from the cruelties he had faced in his life. A get out of jail free card of sorts. But instead of skipping jail time, he was skipping the biting cold straight to feeling numb everywhere. 

He rubbed his face. His hands were wet. Opening an eye he saw red cover his entire hand. 

Just as he began to accept the calming numbness that had control of his body it vanished. Bile rose up his throat. He managed to throw his weight sideways and retched. His throat burned around the acidic contents spewing out and his eyes watered. 

After what felt like a millennium, he rolled onto his back staring up at the sky, and took into account what he knew.

  1. He was covered in blood
  2. He was cold
  3. He was alone.



Painfully and soul-crushingly alone. No one in their sane mind would openly go out of their way to help a confused kid that was soaked to the bone in rainwater and blood. Hell, he couldn't see what he looked like, but if he saw what he imagined he looked like he would turn the other way and run. 

He needed help. He was too confused to understand where he was or what happened to put him in the position he was in. He needed someone to find him and help him.

Unconsciously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a circular device. It was about the size of a quarter and red. A clear cover separated the button inside from the outside. Trying to ignore the concerning amount of blood on his hands, he tried to take the cover off, but the device slipped through his fingers. Bile threatened to rise again. He was so soaked in blood that he couldn't grab a hold of anything.

Clenching his eyes shut he frantically wiped his hands on his shirt. He picked the device up and tired again. 

Successful the second try he pressed on the button without wasting a second. The edges of the device lit up yellow and spun in a circle. 

He tried to stay awake, but he was tired. The struggle with the device in his hands took out anything that he had left in his reserves. Letting his hands fall down to the ground and his eyes travel back up to the sky. The rain hitting his face didn't faze him. He let his eyes drift close as the sound of repulsors got closer and closer.

_Breath in...Breathe out…_


	2. Enter Sandman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all dedicated to one of Metallica's greatest hits: Enter Sandman. I have had so much time on my hands the past few days which is crazy because I was used to running every which way just a couple of weeks ago and driving myself insane from how busy I was. But...here this thing is. Hope some of you guys enjoy it!

“ _ Spider-Cop reports for duty. He heroically perches on the highest point of New York City with a watchful eye waiting for villainous fiends to dare show their faces. Nothing goes past Spider-Cop because he is too good. _ ”

“Peter,” Ned Leeds groaned, “Please...Never, ever do that again when we are talking.”

The boy scoffs and spins on his tiptoe hundreds of feet in the air without a care in the world and in the same forced deep voice, “ _ Me? Stop? Never. Spider-Cop will never rest while evil lurks in these beautiful cities streets _ !”

Peter laughed at the exasperated sigh from his best friend on the other end of the line. Life was good. It was better than good honestly, perhaps even perfect. Today was the last day of exams and Peter passed each one with ease and now he was a free man for two whole months. He was going to go out and be Spider-Man every day as long as he could without giving his aunt an aneurysm. His best friend Ned Leeds was going to be there every step of the way honing his ‘guy in the chair’ skills and on occasion having massive nerd sessions of Star Wars marathons and lego challenges. He had even gotten a sorta yes when asking MJ out on a date! 

To top all of these other amazing things going on Peter got to hang out with Tony Stark and  _ the _ Bruce Banner on Wednesdays in their extremely high-tech and sophisticated lab! And now, since the school was out he was going to spend entire weekends at the compound. It was every nerd's dream come true. Peter was in bliss. He never knew he could be so happy that it felt like he was bursting with the stuff. 

“Ugh fine, but you only get five minutes, or else I revoke being the guy in the chair.”

“What!” Peter shot a web out to keep him suspended in the air, “You love being my guy in the chair!”

“Exactly,” Ned said, “I like being  _ Spider-Man’s  _ guy in the chair, not Spider-Cop’s.”

“Fair enough,” Peter replied then let go of the web holding him tethered to the point of the skyscraper. He let himself fall forward, arms spread wide, and let out a whoop of joy. He loved the rush that the fall before catching himself gave him. It made Peter feel free and invincible. As the ground became closer, he shifted his body upward and released a web. The sudden change in momentum made his stomach drop and another laugh escaped him as he continued the process of freefalling then catching himself at the last second.

“So are we still on for an epic Star Wars movie marathon at your place?” Ned asked, “Because I went and bought  _ so  _ many bags of Doritos because I know you love the cheese ones. 

“Of course! Be there around nine because May leaves for work at ten,” Peter stuck to the skyscraper next to him and waved enthusiastically to the workers gaping at him from inside, “She’ll want to talk to you before she has to leave.”

“Okay,” Ned replies back with a horrid Yoda impression, “See you at nine I will.”

Peter turned his attention back to the screen in his mask and looked at the time. It was only three o’clock. Which meant he had about five more hours to kill before he needed to head home and get ready for the movie marathon. Five hours to kill in a multi-million dollar super suit. Peter grinned to himself and let go of the building laughing at how some workers raced to the window in fear from his sudden movement. As he swung past the window again he threw up a peace sign.

_ Time for Spider-Cop to go to work. _

* * *

Apparently on Thursday’s from three to seven was a dedicated break for any and all crime in New York City. The most heroic thing that Peter had done was rescue a baby turtle he spotted waddling pitifully around a random park with a plastic wrapper wrapped around its head. However, a few people saw and took videos of him taking the wrapper off as he told them,  _ ‘Save the turtles’ _ . He had helped a few people find their way, carried an old woman's groceries inside of her house, and had done some flips and other tricks for a group of kids at a park. 

By seven o’clock, Peter had begun the trek back to his apartment in Queens in hopes of taking a shower before needing to get everything ready for movie night. All was going smooth and easy until he heard a scream and scuttle from afar. With ease, he switched his course to the struggle that led him to an abandoned warehouse. Beams were missing out of the roof and a large window had long been shattered. Peter flipped through the window and sat upside down on the ceiling. He scanned the building, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just busted crates, wood planks, and some abandoned furniture. 

“Karen,” Peter whispered, “Scan for anyone in or just outside of this building.”

_ “There is no one in or outside of the perimeter Peter, would you like me to expand my search?” _

“No, that’s okay Karen,” Peter shook his head and silently dropped to the ground, “I think I was just hearing things.”

_ “Would you like me to add ‘ _ hearing things _ ’ to that list you asked me to create called ‘ _ Am I going crazy or not _ ’?” _

“What!” Peter scrunched his nose as he picked up a random piece of rotten wood, “No, I told you that was just for that one time and to delete it.”

A pause.

_ “Would you like me to erase the list from my harddrive, Peter?” _

“Yes,” Peter rolled his eyes discarding the wood, “The last thing I need is for Mister Stark to ask me why I have a list questioning if I am going crazy or not.”

_ “Certainly Peter, I could offer up a list of excellent mental health institutions for you to look into instead if you do believe you are ‘going crazy’”. _

He did not respond to the A.I. instead he shook his head and walked further into the warehouse. There was nothing here as well as no one. So what had that noise been? What could have agitated his spidey-sense?

The hairs on the back of his neck tickled and Peter stiffened. Something metal had fallen onto the floor by the sound of it. Peter turned back around and saw a silver canister roll to his feet. He picked the canister up hesitantly to inspect it. Another clank, and a moment later another silver canister rolled to his feet.

Peter looked over where the noise originated from and called, “I’m not one to turn down a good thermos but could you not dent them by dropping them!”

Machinery whirred to life behind him and Peter turned. A man hovered in the air in green armor. The armor was close-fitting to his body, multiple parts overlapping each other. The face was angled with a twisted smile engraved on it and glowing yellow eyes. The pair stared at each other for a moment before Peter raised the canister up, “These your thermos’s man?”

The man hovering in front of him did not speak. Peter put the canister back down and took a hesitant step back. As he had thought, the man in front of him hovered closer. A hiss came from his hand and he saw the canister open up on both sides. A pink smoke began billowing out of it, likewise for the other canister by his feet.

The smoke was sickeningly sweet. Making sure there was no room to take in a clean deep breath. Peter tried to run away, but his movements were already slow and messy. Without warning, he dropped on his butt and fell backward. The smoke is now burning his eyes even through the mask. They watered against his will.

_ “Peter you need to move, this is a highly toxic gas. I will have to inform Mister Stark if you take in any more of the toxin.” _

Peter swung his body to the side and he used his arm to pull himself away from the smoke, but it was no use. He could already feel his body slowly shutting down, his movements sloppy and desperate.

“No-Not a thermos...Huh…” Peter thought out loud as he stared at the man hovering directly above him. 

The man above scoffed, “Sweet dreams Spider…”

* * *

When Peter was younger, May and Ben would argue sometimes. Mainly, it was about him. Peter could remember sitting on the old blue tattered couch in the cramped living room holding a bag of frozen peas against his eye for what seemed to be the fifth day in a row. He’d keep his head down trying to ignore the hushed argument going on in the equally tiny kitchen. It was impossible to drown out the anger in both of their voices in the seven hundred and fifty square foot apartment. Peter could practically see the tears in May’s eyes and her hands flying every which way as she argued to Ben that they needed to talk to someone at his school. That Peter coming home with a new kind of bruise every day was ridiculous and someone needed to be held responsible. He could hear Ben sigh as he tried to place a calming hand on May’s shoulder and tell her that would only make the issue worse and that Peter needed to learn how to defend himself. The arguing would continue for hours until the frozen peas would finally thaw out and Peter would put them on the dinged up coffee table and sneak back to his bedroom. With the closed door, he was able to drown out the arguing and finally be able to think. 

How was he to defend himself? He was just Peter Parker. Just the biggest nerd as well as the smallest kid at school. 

It wasn’t long until Peter was finally able to defend himself. The arguing stopped and Peter wouldn’t come back home until he was a greasy sweaty mess. Then it was him doing the arguing with Ben. This time he would just walk out of the door and calm down by pacing down the smoky hallway. One day he needed a longer break and he found out that while he could defend himself now, he couldn’t defend others. That night, Peter found solace hiding under his covers with the door closed as he listened to every word clear as day as May cried to the police officers that brought him back to his home one member short of their dwindling family.

* * *

When Ned arrived at the Parker residence he was not surprised to run into May who was rushing out the door. She had gotten called in to work earlier and was racing to get there, but she let Ned in before shutting the door. She trusted the teen to not wreck the apartment while he waited for Peter to show up. Ned was also not surprised by Peter's absence. He usually got wound up doing Spider-Man business but he knew it wouldn't last that much longer.

After thirty minutes of waiting alone without any text or call from his best friend, Ned turned on the first movie. He liked watching the movies in normal chronological order so he put on Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The T.V. immediately starting blaring music and subtitles rolled across the screen. Ned sighed and plopped on the couch lazily pulling a bag of Doritos in his lap.

Another thirty minutes. Nothing. The only sounds coming from awesome lightsaber duels and the annoying blabber from Jar Jar Binks. Ned reached into his pocket completely ignoring the movie playing in front of him and sent a text.

_ I’ve got everything set up here, gimme a text when you’re on your way. _

Turning the ringer on and sitting his phone right side up, Ned turned his attention back to the movie, shoving the uneasy feeling away. Peter was fine. He was Spider-Man. He could literally stop speeding busses with his bare hands. He was fine.

Thirty minutes turned into an hour. No response. Ned sent another text.

_ Are you okay? _

Five minutes later, Ned tried calling Peter. Instantly, it went to voicemail. Ned turned back to the T.V. Anakin was finally meeting Padame, it was secretly one of Ned's favorite parts of the entire movie.

Besides, Peter was fine. He probably dropped his phone web-slinging or it got crushed by some bad guy and he was out taking care of business. Peter would be back soon for sure.

An hour turned into two. The credits rolled in the background, but Ned paid no attention to them. He grabbed his phone again. The same uneasy feeling from before crawling up his spine sending a shiver throughout his body. First, Ned called May. He asked if he had heard anything from Peter and she had said no. She sounded worried but told him to relax. This was not the first time for Peter to be late and he had May’s consent to lecture him when he finally showed up. Despite the kind words the woman offered, it did nothing to hide the waver in her voice.

So, Ned waited. He turned on Episode II and sat back down on the couch. His knee bounced fervently and his eyes skittered from the window in front of him and then back to the T.V. 

Five minutes later, Ned had his phone centimeters away from his face, his index finger hovering over a certain billionaire's name. The movie long since became background noise to the internal struggle Ned found himself having.

On one hand, Ned wanted to call the man. Tell him what was going on. How long Peter had been gone and that he had received no answer whatsoever since he had talked to him briefly over six hours ago. He wanted to tell him that something wasn’t right. He could feel it in his stomach.

The other side of him hesitated. The side that knew Peter Parker aka Spider-Man the best. The side of him that was his ‘guy in the chair’. He knew that if he did end up calling the billionaire and he was just out taking care of crime then he would be upset. Or if he called and two seconds later Peter came swinging through the door arms filled with snacks and sincere apologies about how his phone died. 

Ned glanced at the window again. He waited. One minute. Three minutes. Five.

His eyes flitted back to his phone. He pressed the contact name and held the phone against his ear. His fingers tingle and his throat constricted against the saliva in his mouth.

“ _ Hello? _ ”

“Mister Stark,” Ned sighed, “I was wondering if umm, well actually I needed to ask you err tell you…”

“ _ Ned, right?”  _ Tony did not wait for a response, “ _ What do you need to tell me?” _

“It’s Peter,” Ned gulped, adjusting the phone in his clammy grip, pushing back nausea creeping up his throat, “I think he’s in trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter suited some of y'alls fancy. If you did enjoy it, leave a little like and maybe comment and tell me what all you think if you've got the time! I really appreciate it!   
> Stay safe everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> So the title of this is 100% inspired by the Elvis Presley song (You're The) Devil in Disguise. For some reason, the only thing I have been wanting to listen to is do-wap music lol.  
> I've been thinking about this little idea for a while and scrounged this up. Just a little snippet to see if it's alright or just to scrap it before I get too into it. If you guys could give me some feedback on what you think about this that would be great, I really appreciate any and every comment that comes through. I love reading them! XD  
> Hope everyone is staying well and healthy!


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